'I explored France's dreamiest castles and it was a total sensory underload'
Glass of cold Chinon blanc in hand, sated on asparagus tips and octopus, it feels like I’m in a lottery winner’s dreamscape. Spread before me is Chateau du Rivau, a Disney-esque castle from a picture book, with turrets, drawbridge and moat, a flag fluttering, the early evening sun flashing gold off its walls.
I later learn Joan of Arc had once stood in this spot, collecting military horses from the 15th century royal stables now converted into luxury bedrooms. A blue peacock has ended up perched on the stone sill of a third floor window and was letting out a squawk of triumph. A tractor gently thrums in a distant wheatfield, while faint scents of irises and heritage roses linger. Peace washes over me.
Just hours earlier I’d been back in frantic Britain, my overcooked senses screaming for respite. Now I’m swaddled instead in exactly the sensory underload I’d hoped for.
Valmer in the Loire Valley (Malo de Saint-Venant)I’d visited the Loire before, at the wheel of a 1978 VW campervan on consecutive family holidays, touring campsites and seeking high octane fun. But this is a different, grown up, posher experience.
Next day I’m taking a stroll through the courtyard when owner Patricia Laigneau approaches, a wicker basket on her arm, a pair of secateurs ready to snip a stray twig. Twinkly eyed, she’s a human dynamo, the first of the chateau owners I meet on my travels who have thrown millions of euros and years of their lives into restoring the Loire’s grand houses and gardens.
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In her case, with investor husband Eric, she has spent three decades rebuilding much of Rivau and creating an array of wild, formal and quirky gardens around it.
Ambacia wine cellaar in Amboise (© Caves Ambacia)The end result is a destination where visitors can luxuriate in beautiful food, decor and surroundings, but not vaingloriously – the playful touches take care of that. It’s impossible to be pompous in a location that has a pair of giant left foot wellies, secret gnomes, a Wile E. Coyote inspired bronze and tree-sized metal legs running amok in its gardens.
It all gets sillier inside the chateau halls, where the art collection reflects Patricia’s quirky take on life, juxtaposing the classics with the ultra modern. There is nothing cheap or easy about restoring an ancient castle, she tells me, sharing some of the highs and lows – not least a devastating fire part way through restoration. No matter how deep her pockets were to start with, the cost never ends, and there’s an ongoing battle to restore visitor numbers to pre-pandemic.
It’s a similar story at the exquisite Chateau Louise de La Valliere, where owner Mira Grebenstein knows she will never get back all she has given to a five-year restoration project. “This house chose me. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I was going to give it all my heart, my passion, that I was going to ensure that this place regains its majesty and its nobility,” she tells me as we sip tea in the saloon bar.
Blois in the Loire Valley (Daniel Lépissier)Even in the chateau-laden Loire, it’s a standout location. Every chateau open to the public flirts with its Ancien Regime heritage but at Chateau Louise it’s a full-blown love affair. Interior designer Jacques Garcia was brought in to weave period furnishings and grand paintings into a deep, dark colour palette that oozes luxury. Every one of the 20 rooms pays homage to love, each named after a royal’s secret lover. If it’s a sensual encounter you’re seeking, this is the place.
At La Borde en Sologne, 20 minutes from Blois and Chambord, the young owners Anabelle Ubald-Bocquet and husband Jean-Marie have worked their magic, transforming another unkempt 17th century castle into a luxury haven – this time with a grand drive and lake out front, and a forest behind full of walking and cycling trails.
Chateau du Villandry (DAILY MIRROR)It’s more understated than Chateau Louise, but utterly romantic all the same, with high ceilings, giant beds, bathrooms made for two and attentive, friendly service. There’s a spa, swimming pools, tennis court and rowing boats available to tour the lake. It also warmly welcomes little people, who have their own pool, kids’ club and bikes to pedal around the estate.
Dining in its Memoire restaurant is a highlight of the trip, both for the incredible food served up by chef Romain Matura and the setting, a gold-adorned saloon. There is nothing fussy about it though, with smart casual dress welcomed. The food is incredible and if I had to pick one dish, it would be the riz au lait – the best rice pudding you’ll ever taste.
Like pretty much every restaurant we visit, there is a passion for the Loire and the produce that emerges from its fields and allotments.
La Borde en Sologne dining salon (DAILY MIRROR)Restaurant Les Jardiniers Potager is a delightful lunch stop, chef Virginie Thenot and her husband Herve presenting food plucked from raised beds right outside the kitchen window and from a pretty eco garden, complete with wild flower meadow and nearby fields which produce black truffles. A two course lunch – featuring nettle crusted feta cheese, a shellfish broth with zucchini gratin, veal sweetbreads and tarragon chocolate mousse – will set you back €30 and it is worth every cent.
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It’s a theme repeated at two Michelin star chef Christophe Hay’s namesake restaurant on the banks of the Loire at Blois. Inside his Fleur de Loire hotel Vendome-born Hay has crafted a venue centred on regional produce and craftsmanship. The timbers and white tuffeau stone of the hotel are local; while the food on the plate is from his own vegetable garden, supplemented with fish caught in the Loire, meat from his own Wagyu farm and ossetra caviar from Sologne. Tables are hard to come by, so book ahead.
Château du Rivau in Lémeré (Shutterstock / RYSAN)As a detour, I stop eating briefly to take in a floral workshop at the beautiful Chateau de Chenonceau, a jewel among the 300 or so chateaux in the region and a must visit.
Master florist Jean-Francois Boucher makes it look incredibly easy – but then he does have to arrange new giant floral displays for 19 of the chateau’s showrooms every week. This is all thirsty work, so I head to Caves Ambacia, overlooking the river at Amboise. Here we take a tour of the wine cellars, learning how to detect different flavours and how they merge to create a unique whole, followed by a wine tasting and lunch in the Oppidum bistro upstairs.
We feast on a smorgasbord of local highlights, including duck magret smoked with oak three miles away, organic saucisson and Loire catfish.
One of the highlights of the trip comes on a sunny afternoon at Chateau de Valmer, a 300 acre estate created equidistant from the principal chateaux of Tours, Amboise and Blois.
Owner Jean de Saint Venant is the fifth generation of his family to oversee this heavenly spot, on a slope overlooking the Brenne valley. He has extended the vineyard but says winemaking remains a craft. “Everything seems to be getting bigger, which is not always better. We still do everything by hand, in a very old school way.”
Chateau de Chenonceau (Shutterstock / LHBLLC)A tour of the gardens with the delightful and exceptionally knowledgeable Maurine is a must. “Unlike many of the chateau grand gardens, this is not a museum – you must touch, feel and taste what is here,” she says as we chow down at her invitation on honey scented rosemary flowers, celery-esque lovage, primroses, medicinal sage and crunchy daylilies.
Later we enjoy a tasting with Jean, each wine accompanied by a pick from the basket of flowers and herbs we harvested together.
Everything within the chateau estate’s walls has a reason for existing, says Maurine. “The weeds, like the roses, and the lilies, they have a story and their place here.”
It’s a poignant commentary on the ethos here but also a lesson for life – and the perfect way to close a trip to this beautiful region.
Book the holiday
- Ryanair flies from Stansted to Tours Val de Loire, or travel by Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris and on to Tours by TGV.
- Rooms at Chateau du Rivau in Lémeré start at around £176 a night. chateaudurivau.com
- Rooms at Chateau Louise de la Valliere in Reugny start at around £289 a night. chateaulouise.com
- Rooms at Hotel Le Close d’Amboise in Amboise start at around £84 a night. leclosdamboise.com
- Rooms at La Borde en Sologne Chateau et Spa in Vernou-en-Sologn start at around £235 a night. laborde-sologne.fr
- More info: loirevalley-france.co.uk touraineloirevalley.co.uk
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